Padfoot's Shadow
by white snake918
Summary: She mourns for his death, only to realize that he is still alive with her.


**Disclaimer: **If I owned Harry Potter I would have graduated already.

A/N: My love of invented characters is once again in motion. (eh?) Takes place between OotP and HBP. Enjoy!

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The Order, the Death Eaters, Harry and his friends were in the Department of Mysteries. Everyone was busy dueling. She was dueling with a Death Eater. This person, being very quick in casting spells (being able to say "Impedimenta", "Stupefy" and "Avada Kedavra" in _very_ quick succession) only gave her one chance to save her life.

She pulled out a dagger with a gold hilt and a blade with two edges thankfully saved her from the killing curse by reflecting it back to the Death Eater when it hit the flat. She was a bit surprised (she was intending to chop his arm off) but very relieved. She turned around as the Death Eater fell, looking for others free to fight.

That moment of turning was absolutely the worst in her life.

Hewas hit by a spell from Bellatrix Lestrange. Slowly, yet somehow gracefully, he fell through the archway in the dais.

"Sirius! Sirius!" She could hear Harry yelling, and she also heard Bellatrix's shriek of triumph. Lupin was restraining Harry from going through the archway after Sirius. She could hear the voices beyond the veil… the voices of the dead…

At that moment, she knew he was gone… forever.

She fell to her knees, crying for the first time in ages. "No…" She was clutching both her wand and the dagger tightly in her right hand.

"NOOOOOO!"

She sat up quickly, finding herself in a green field. She sighed, realizing that she had dozed off, once again revisiting the Department of Mysteries. The image of her dagger flashed once again before her eyes. She pulled it out of her belt and examined it.

_I never thought you'd be right about this thing…_

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The five of them were the best of friends in Hogwarts. The coolest, smartest, and most idiotic set of friends in their day.

They taught her how to play Quidditch and think of pranks. She was always there for them, ready to give advice, especially about girls (being the only one in the group and a friend of Lily Evans, in James' case). They in turn never left her side. Especially Sirius.

How she would get a twinge of jealousy when he was flirting with the other girls, more so when she would walk in on him snogging one of them!

But she said nothing, glad enough to be one of the people he trusted, one he could confide his secrets to.

They had learned how to become Animagi to keep Lupin company during the full moon. They drew the Marauder's Map, a result of all their wonderful adventures, signing it with their nicknames: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Shadow and Prongs.

Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Iris Jade and James Potter.

On the last night of school, Sirius gave her a gift. It was a dagger, with a gold handle studded with two rubies, one on either side, and a two-pointed blade, one being longer than the other. He knew she loved weapons of any kind. The girls who were in the common room with them at that time threw dirty looks at Iris.

"It's beautiful…" she said in awe when she received it.

"You will need it one day," he said, grinning as she admired the dagger after making sure it wasn't a practical joke. She was positively beaming with pride and she always carried it around with her, but she never took what he said about needing it seriously.

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And now… he was right. She did need it.

"Sirius…" she whispered softly. The only answer was of the wind breathing around her. Then...

"Why so sad, Iris?"

She looked up so quickly she thought her neck would snap in half. She knew that voice._ His voice…_

Sirius Black was standing before her, smiling, the breeze playing with his long hair. He looked… younger, like he never went to Azkaban. She was too appalled to speak, thinking it might only be her imagination.

He knelt down and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His touch gave her the strength to speak.

"Sirius…? You're alive?"

"He smiled sadly. "Only in my happy dreams, Iris."

"Then why…?" She touched his hand, feeling that it was solid, looking up into his eyes. "How…?"

"I'm only a memory, I don't have much time left here. I'll be gone again soon."

Without knowing it, tears started to fill her eyes. "Please… don't go… don't leave…" She held his hand tighter. He touched her cheek with his free hand, brushing away stray tears. He was starting to look less solid.

"Do I really mean that much to you?" She blushed slightly. "S-sirius…"

Gently, he kissed her on her lips. For that one special moment, they felt bliss, joy, and the love which they had for each other, though they never knew what the other felt.

Then he broke the kiss and stood up, still looking at her lovingly.

"Iris, promise me you'll be strong…"

"Sirius…"

"I'll always be with you…" He was starting to fade. She felt the tears threatening to spill from her eyes once more.

"No! Don't leave me! I need you!"

"I love you, Iris…" He let go of her hand.

"Sirius!" She stood up, the dagger on her lap falling to the ground, her hand still extended. "SIRIUS!" But he was gone.

Sadly she brought her hand to her chest, and for some time she stood there, hardly daring to believe that once again he was gone. Then she bent down and picked up the dagger. There was something engraved just below the hilt. She frowned in spite of herself because she knew there wasn't anything there before. She took a closer look.

_Padfoot's Shadow_

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Shadow and Prongs.

Padfoot's Shadow. She smiled despite the tears that were gently falling from her eyes. They belonged to each other. He was right, he would always be with her, and nothing could change that.

_Sirius… I love you too._

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A/N: Review please! (does puppy dog eyes)


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